SPORT - 2013 Audi IRC Australian Championship NoR released

Date: 11.10.2012

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Leading yachts set to challenge for the Audi IRC Australian Championship at the Festival of Sails 2013, Geelong

SPORT — 2013 Audi IRC Australian Championship NoR released

Yachting Australia and the Royal Geelong Yacht Club have released the Notice of Race for the 2013 Audi IRC Australian Championship, which is to be held in conjunction with the annual Festival of Sails regatta in Geelong, Victoria, next January.

In 2013, competition for the Championship will take place in the fast, flat waters of Geelong’s Corio Bay from Thursday, January 24 to Sunday, January 27.

Competition is expected to be fierce following the success of the close finish at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week in August, which saw Marcus Blackmore’s TP52 Hooligan and Darryl Hodgkinson’s Victoire successfully defend their 2011 titles in Class A and Class B respectively, with Roland Dane’s Jessandra II winning Class C.

Luxury car maker, Audi Australia has continued its longstanding support of sailing in Australia with confirmation of a two-year agreement to sponsor the Audi IRC Australian Championship in 2013 and 2014, complementing the company’s involvement as a major co-sponsor of the Australian Sailing Team and a corporate partner of Yachting Australia.

Audi’s managing director, Uwe Hagen said the company is keen to continue its association with the championship and to ensure that its support of the sailing community is comprehensive and diverse.

"We are pleased to support the Audi IRC Australian Championship for 2013 and 2014 as part of our sailing sport sponsorship," said Hagen.

"We believe it’s a critical part of the competitive Australian sailing landscape and an important challenge for Australia’s best sailors. The Festival of Sails is sure to provide a very competitive environment from which the 2013 Audi IRC Australian Champion will be crowned," he said.

The January 2013 Championship will be the second running under the revised single-regatta format that proved hugely successful at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, with the final winner being decided on the last race and by a single point margin.

"The structure of a single event moving between states is in line with feedback from owners from across the country and we look forward to an increase in support of the Championship over the next few years," said Phil Jones, CEO of Yachting Australia.

Previously, the IRC Australian Championship was decided over four regattas — the Festival of Sails, Hamilton Island Race Week, Sydney’s Middle Harbour Regatta, and the offshore element of the Sydney to Gold Coast Regatta. Under the single-regatta format, plans are to rotate the championship between Victoria, Queensland and NSW.

Next year, the Audi IRC Australian Championship will form part of the annual Festival of Sails regatta, acclaimed as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest annual sailing festival. The 2013 event will feature 19 different classes and race series competing during the 170th running of the historic regatta.

Festival of Sails Event Organiser and Olympic Sailing Gold medallist, Mark Turnbull OAM is expecting to see a large fleet of yachts participating in what is the oldest sporting event in Victoria.